Pitt FB Recruiting
Pitt Extends Offer to Utah State Transfer Defensive End
Pitt is looking for help at defensive end in the transfer portal, and the latest offer has been extended to Blaine Spires.
Spires — a 6-foot-3, 230-pound rising senior from Youngstown, Ohio — received interest from the coaching staff earlier this week and picked up an official offer on Sunday. Spires is coming off a season in which he only played four games due to injury.
He’s received offers from Southern Miss, UTSA, Tulsa, Kent State, Nevada, UAB, Arkansas State, South Alabama, Coastal Carolina and JMU since entering the portal.
Pitt offered!! #H2P pic.twitter.com/9JJ0p4HB26
— Blaine Spires🦈 (@Blaine_Lamar) December 21, 2024
In four games this season, he recorded eight tackles (four solo), three tackles for loss and a sack.
According to PFF, he played 178 defensive snaps this season. He’s credited with 11 pressures, four pressures and six quarterback hits — serving as the Aggies’ top pass rusher when healthy.
Spires was originally a two-star recruit in the class of 2019, committing to Bowling Green. He spent three seasons at Bowling Green, racking up 66 tackles (34 solo), 10 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, a forced fumble, a recovery and a pass breakup.
In two seasons at Utah, missing all but four games of his second season, he recorded 35 tackles (17 solo), 12 tackles for loss, six sacks, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and a pass breakup.
It remains to be seen whether the relationship will progress to the point where Pitt extends an official offer, but things move fast in the transfer portal.
Pitt will need to replace Nate Matlack in the starting lineup next season, but there’s a solid base returning with Jimmy Scott (who already announced he’s returning next season), Sincere Edwards and Chief Borders. There are some younger pass rushers on the roster, but it’s been a priority for the coaching staff to target defensive ends in the portal.
Pitt has its core defensive tackles in Sean FitzSimmons, Nick James and Isaiah Neal (with Francis Brewu and Jahsear Whittington primed for bigger seasons), but the need for edge rushers will be addressed.
